IN a stunning revelation, an RSS cadre has claimed his involvement in a political murder in Kerala in 2006 for which the CBI had arrested senior CPI(M) leaders, thereby laying bare a diabolical plot to witch-hunt the CPI(M) and its leaders. A conspiracy hatched by the CBI in the Fazal murder case, which had put CPI(M) Kannur district secretariat member Karayi Rajan, district committee member Karayi Chandrasekharan and six others behind bars, has been trashed by the revelation of RSS cadre Subeesh.

CBI Frame-up

The CPI(M) leaders were arrested by the CBI in 2012 in a case related to the murder of Fazal, a worker of the extremist National Development Front (NDF) on October 22, 2006. Rajan and Chandrasekharan are both victims of a grievous human rights violation and they have been barred from entering their home district as per the stringent bail conditions even after they got bail, after spending two-and-a-half years in jail. They are still languishing in neighbouring districts and their right to work has been compromised.

The Fazal murder case was transferred to the Special Investigation Team in February 2007, and three CPI(M) workers were arrested in October the same year. In April, 2008, the case was transferred to CBI as per the order of a single judge bench of the Kerala High Court. CBI arrested Rajan and Chandrasekharan in 2012. The arrests were made following the intervention of Mullappalli Ramachandran, the then minister of state for home affairs. The CBI and the Congress-led government were keen to fix leaders like Rajan and Chandrasekharan. Police claimed that the CPI(M) had animosity towards Fazal as he was earlier a party supporter and later joined the NDF. The arrests were made based on these “findings”. In July 2012, CBI had filed a charge sheet in the case.  

The Fazal murder case was used by the Congress and the UDF and by the Muslim extremists and the RSS to tarnish the image of the CPI(M). A state-wide frenzied campaign was conducted to target the CPI(M) cadre as killers. Now what the CPI(M) had always maintained has proved to be true. This murder was an outcome of a clash between the two extremist organisations – the NDF and the RSS.

The new turn of events occurred in last November when Subeesh revealed the real story behind Fazal’s murder. Subeesh, an RSS worker from Chembra near Mahe, was arrested in a case related to the murder of Mohanan, a CPI(M) worker in Paduvilayi, Kannur.  Subeesh narrated the story behind Fazal’s murder when he was questioned by the Koothupramba Circle Inspector of Police.

The story began with three RSS men coming to the temple ground near Subeesh’s house in Chembra around 8 pm on October 21, 2006. One of them who was known to Subeesh wanted him to go Madappeedika near Thalasseri “to handle” a man who had become a “nuisance” for the RSS. They reached near Fazal’s home around midnight and waited for him. The gang collected weapons like chopper, sword and an iron rod and kept them on the bike. When Fazal came out of home and went toward Saidarpalli on bicycle, the gang followed him on bike. When they reached near Liberty quarters, three of them stopped Fazal and killed him. Apart from this revelation, police are in possession of an audio clip that contains a year-old conversation between Subeesh and another RSS worker. In this clip, Subeesh is heard talking about his role in the attack on Fazal. He states that he had hacked Fazal when he was lying on the floor to ensure he was dead.

The CPI(M) state secretariat, in a statement on January 13, has demanded the CBI end its hide-and-seek policy and bring the real culprits before the law. CBI should re-investigate the Fazal murder case based on fresh evidence. “There is a Supreme Court order that says an investigating agency can reopen a probe even in a case which has been closed if there is fresh evidence. It is the CBI which needs to take a decision to reopen Fazal murder case. The CBI court should also initiate steps to reopen the probe.”

The issue of human rights violation against Party leaders Rajan and Chandrasekharan who could not visit their hometowns for over four years also needs to be discussed. They spent two-and-a-half years in prison and now live in Ernakulam. They can’t move out of the district and their right to work for a living has been compromised.

The witch-hunt of CPI(M) leaders was politically motivated. Soon after Fazal’s murder, NDF had categorically said that the RSS was behind the murder. But then they made a somersault and accused CPI(M) of the murder. But now the hiccups in Sangh Parivar have revealed the real picture. Though one of the person involved in the murder has given a statement, CBI is still adamant to hunt CPI(M) leaders and workers. The details of the fresh evidence have been handed over to CBI by the Kerala Police.